The fire alarms that were accidentally turned on early in the second half at Eden Park on Tuesday were a little bit too on the nose.
The U.S. Women’s National Team limped into the knockout rounds, but the alarm bells should be ringing loud and clear at the team’s Auckland base camp after a third straight uninspired performance that registered as the worst of this World Cup — a bare-minimum 0-0 draw against Portugal that came within a post’s width of becoming a disastrous loss.
As a result, the U.S. finished second in Group E, with the Netherlands finishing ahead thanks to a 7-0 beatdown of Vietnam.
“We’re disappointed in ourselves,” Rose Lavelle said. “But we have another game to focus on. We made it through, so we can put our energy towards that now.”
The U.S. is likely to face Sweden — which beat the Americans in the Tokyo Olympics two years ago — in the Round of 16 in Melbourne at 5 a.m. Eastern Time on Sunday.
The opponent will be confirmed after the last round of Group G games early Wednesday morning.
This is just the second time the U.S. has ever failed to win its group at the World Cup, but it was lucky to advance at all.
Portugal’s Ana Capeta had a brilliant chance to win the game in the 91st minute, getting behind the American defense for a chance all alone on goal as the 42,958 in attendance entered the early stages of a gasp.
Capeta beat Alyssa Naeher, but her shot pinged off the left post, allowing the U.S. to escape eight nervy minutes of added time with its tournament intact.
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Deep into the game, the Americans looked wholly unsure of themselves and wholly at risk of an early exit from the World Cup.
Following a late Portugal free kick that Naeher fumbled, nearly leading to a Portugal goal, coach Vlatko Andonovski went defensive with his substitutions, playing for a draw by bringing on Emily Sonnett for Lindsey Horan in the 84th minute.
That unto itself amounted to an admission that the Portuguese — playing in their first World Cup — had played the Americans to their limits.
And with Capeta’s chance, they would push even further, forcing the U.S. to rely on a few inches of the post to keep its World Cup alive.
“This team gave everything,” Alex Morgan said. “We just didn’t put the ball in the back of the net. And in the last few minutes, we just had to hold it down. We just had to get the result and move on.”
Portugal can count itself unlucky to be flying home following a match in which it was tantalizingly close to a monumental upset.
After playing an abysmal first half against the Dutch, the U.S. played an abysmal game against Portugal, getting dominated in possession and completing 123 passes fewer than their opposition.
The U.S. did get some chances in the second half, particularly via Morgan, who had a shot cleared off the line in the 54th minute and couldn’t get on the end of Lavelle’s free kick from just outside the box a couple minutes later.
But it was Portugal that left a win on the table.
Andonovski finally changed his starting 11, bringing in Lynn Williams for Trinity Rodman and Lavelle for Savannah DeMelo.
Not only did that not have the intended effect early on, as the Americans failed to find any creativity in attack, but Lavelle picked up a yellow card in the 39th minute that will see her suspended for the Round of 16.
Andonovski has found himself under constant criticism and did again after another game in which his team played hesitantly, barely held itself together and could not finish chances.
“I thought especially in the first half, there was a lot of space for us to play into,” Megan Rapinoe said. “Just a little bit rushed. … I thought we were finding the width but I think we can open them up a little bit more.”
Said Lavelle: “I think we’re getting the chances, but it’s just that final bit of ruthlessness and just putting it away.”
The only game in which the result looked comfortable throughout for the U.S. was against Vietnam, and that 3-0 victory ended up costing them in terms of goal differential.
The five points it finished the group stage with marked its worst ever performance in a World Cup group stage.
This is still the back-to-back world champion, and maybe the USWNT can find its footing in the knockout stages.
But right now, that looks like an uphill climb.
